***Arya's POV.***
I came back to my room after Mami shooed me away from doing the house chores. She said as I am a bride I should not work. I just need to relax and enjoy my time here. I shake my head at that. How much can a person rest after all?
I pick up my phone when it buzzes and see the text from Mayra. She has sent me some pictures she clicked of us. I scroll through it and see one of her pictures with Veer. Looks like the hour she spent with Veer was for some cute selfies. I smile at that and send her a thank you text. Then I go back and see the text Vedant sent me this morning.
'What did you and Dadi talk about last night when we were about to leave? You looked tense. I hope she didn't say something which upset you in some way.'
I sit on the bed as I remember what she said last night.
— Flashback...
I was thinking about why Vedant was upset with the presence of our wedding planner when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look up to see Dadi. They are now leaving. Before she could say anything, Mom took my hand and complimented me again.
"I can't wait. I just want you both to get married soon and come home. So I could make my son jealous." Mom says teasing Vedant and he shakes his head while I blush.
"Just four days, Purvi Ji. Then she is all yours. And Vedant is ours." Mami says with laughs and they start to depart.
"Purvi is very happy with this wedding but she is more happy with you becoming her daughter." Dadi says from beside me.
"I am happy to get her as my mother too." I say.
"You should be. You can't find a mother-in-law like Purvi who is loving and would adjust to your wishes." Dadi says, "But the question is would you do her the same favour?"
"What do you mean, Dadi?" I am confused by her question.
"Arya, I am always going to be direct with you because now I consider you as a part of my family and there should be no hesitation in stating what you feel to your family. I don't like you giving too much importance to Mayra." She says with a serious look in her eyes.
"Why? She is also part of the family." I say.
"Don't act like you don't know what is going on in our family. And about why? Maybe because right now your priority should be Vedant and his Mom. Not Mayra. Your Dadu and I have lived our life and have each other so don't worry about us much. I don't care if you ignore me for a day but I would be bothered if Purvi doesn't get what she deserves. And she deserves to enjoy this wedding just like you and Vedant. So for Purvi's sake, I would insist that your attention should be first you yourself then Purvi then Vedant than anything else." Dadi says.
"I will try, Dadi. But if Mayra wants to enjoy this wedding she will. A wedding in society is not just for the bride and groom's enjoyment, it is for their family too. I can't stop talking to people if they are talking to me politely. That would be rude of me. But I promise there won't be any problem too." I say and after a few seconds she nods and leaves.
"What happened? What did Dadi say so seriously?" Reyansh bhai asks.
"Nothing." I say with a smile and turn to wave at Vedant as he goes.
— Flashback Ends.
"What should I tell him?" I ask myself then pick up the phone again and type in.
'Nothing. Just that I should wear more silver than gold, it suits me.' I sent the text.
'Don't lie. If you don't wanna tell me it is okay. But don't lie. Everyone knows gold looks best on you. You proved that last night. And the minimality of it was beautiful.' He sent a text after a minute.
I smile and shake my head. When I look in the mirror, the blush on my cheeks makes me feel too shy to respond quickly. But I type in a text, 'Thanks for the compliment. But you already said last night that I was beautiful. But I forgot to tell you that you look good in traditional clothing.'
'Don't distract me from the main topic.' He texts back.
I sigh and send another text, 'It was just a small discussion, nothing serious. We will talk about it after the wedding.'
'So I would have no way of running away. Okay.' He texted.
'No.' I texted.
After that we texted casually and I took a nap. I played with Veer for some time and also Parth. We play card games and chess too. I beated him in chess but was not as good at cards as usual.
Today we had Jagrata. We served dinner to everyone as they sat down on the floor and then bhajan and kirtan started. We stayed up till next morning and after aarti and breakfast went to sleep.
After a day of rest, we got back to prepare for the Mehandi and Sangeet Ceremony which will be held tomorrow. I spent time with my cousins and called Mayra over to spend some time with us. She was considered an enemy for a few minutes as my cousins were discussing stealing the groom's shoes.
But Mayra had little care in the world as she was showing off some Mehandi designs to Mami and Nani who loved it including me. Veer, on the other hand, threw a tantrum to get Mayra's attention.
"You look so cute, But don't make demands, Veer." Mayra says in scolding and Veer just lays his head on her shoulder with a pout.
"He is getting very attached to you." Mami says.
"Maybe because she bribed him." Nani says.
"I had." Mayra says with a wide smile.
"Really? With what?" I ask.
"Shh. Can't tell the secret. Right, Veer?" She asks Veer and he nods like he understands everything she says and we laugh.
Next day in the mid-morning, mehendi starts along with early sangeet. I am seated in my chair and adorned with Mayra's beautiful designs. As they get on my hands and feet they look even more beautiful. Mamu takes out some notes while I dance after a few minutes and rounds them over my hand before giving it to a server passing by.
It takes almost the whole afternoon to apply mehandi and then Vedant and his family arrive. The mehandi which was applied on my hand was now going to apply on his too. Mami and Mom apply it on his hand. On one hand his name is written and on other hand my name is written. He shows it to me when he comes to sit next to me.
"Where is my name?" He asks and I look at him to see if he is serious.
"Why would you think I will tell you?" I ask with a chuckle.
"Because you are going to be my wife. And obviously you don't want your future husband to lose." He says with a smile.
"And what about me losing?" I ask.
"How would you lose? It is the competition where it matters if I find my name or not. If I win this I promise to help you win in finding the ring ceremony. Because then your winning would matter." He says like he is doing some business deal.
"Oh! And what if I don't tell you?" I ask.
"Then I will beat you in the ring game." He says, then rephrases what he said with a frown on his face, "I mean to say I won't let you win. I mean I will try my best and you will lose."
"I don't need to hear various versions to realise what you mean." I say with a chuckle.
"I know. So?" He asks after a few seconds as if coming out of a zone in his mind and points at my hands.
"No." I say and turn away.
"Anything I can do? Maybe a bribe?" He asks.
"We will see." I say.
"Good." He says.
"After the wedding." I say with a smile and he groans.
"You are cruel, Arya." He says then shakes his head with a smile.
Before I can reply, Parth comes and drags Vedant to the dance floor. He dances with his Mom and Dadi. Then with my Nani and Mami. Mayra clicks away some pictures when one of my cousins drags her too and Vedant goes still when she comes in the group but then dances with her too.
As the evening starts, some people come into the garden with dholak and drums. By that time my mehendi is also dried so I dance with my cousins and Nanu. I ask Dadu and Mamu to dance with me too. It was fun.
I enjoyed it very much. At one point Vedant and I were dancing and his friends were hooting for us. That was embarrassing and new too. But I loved every minute of it. I was tired and hungry by the time they finished. Mami gave my plate to Vedant to feed me.
I was feeling conscious at first but then I ate it. After a few bites it felt normal and we talked while we ate. He told me that we would be going to Vaishano devi and then Amritsar to take blessings for our marriage.
"So maybe we should wait to go for our honeymoon." I say.
"Why?" He asks and feeds me some Gulab Jamun.
"It would take us almost a week to go to temples. And that too right after we finish our wedding rituals. It would be tiring to travel one after another. So maybe we can arrange for it after a month or two later. I would settle in a new home and we would get used to each other by that time too." I say.
"Actually now that you mentioned it, you are right. I have work too. Once I finish some major deals I would have enough time to enjoy a vacation with you fully." He says.
"So it is done. We will go for our honeymoon in two months." I say and he nods.